I went to Malmo Sweden two weeks ago to attend the Nordic Game Conference...

I like conferences in general. It's easy to talk directly to developers at conferences -- no need to work through layers of business people first, and I like that.  I actually like talking to business people too, but it's just really nice to be able to get unfiltered questions and reactions and ideas from those who I like most of all: the people in the trenches who actually design and create. And NGC certainly did not dissappoint - the conference was fantastic!

At Malmo this year, I was especially lucky, because at this conference I was able to speak not only with conference attendees, most of whom were just hearing about Project Darkstar for the first time, but also with developers who have lots of experience using the technology, who have created games based on it, and who have shared their expertise in the form of tools, utilities, support, and more, that they have contributed back to the Community.  Those interactions were fantastic, and they were possible because at this conference I participated side-by-side with other  contributors in our Community to collectively present Project Darkstar on the show floor.  That bit -- participating as a peer with others in our Community -- was a first for me, and was the absolute best part of the conference :-)

Emanuel Greisen, Enric Rodriquez Royo, Jennifer Kotzen, Jussi Autio, and Ville Rauma at NGC, 2009

I enjoyed reconnecting with Emanuel Greisen (Gamalocus, Denmark), whom I'd met last year at the Austin GDC, and meeting others face-to-face for the first time, including Enric Rodriquez Royo (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona), Jussi Autio (Tuonela Productions, Finland), and Ville Rauma (Tuonela Productions, Finland).  Together, using commercial games  built on Project Darkstar (Gamalocus' Call of the Kings, Tuonela's Modern Society Online),  community contributions (Enric's AuthsServer service, and Andres Martinez Quijano's Darkstris example game), and some fine writing implements (giveaway pens!), we introduced hundreds of game developers to Project Darkstar, and in the process we got to know each other too. 

Outside of our booth, we bumped into Fredrik Olofsson, (sorry, I didn't get a photo of Fredrik!), who was attending the conference and who shared thoughts about using Darkstar and Unity together.  I also participated in a panel discussion about open source software, which afforded still more opportunities for interaction and learning.

Another highlight of the event was the Nordic Game Awards ceremony.  If you aren't aware of the tremendous game developer talent that is collected in the Nordic region, please take a moment to check out this year's award nominees and winners -- awesome.  And.... yeah, no doubt -- the party was a lot of fun too ;-)

I totally enjoyed the Nordic Game Conference and look forward to going back there again next year.  I'm also *really* pleased at how well doing an event like this as a Community effort worked out, and I'd very much like to see Project Darkstar presented at more events following this model.  If you like the idea too, and would be willing to participate, please let me know -- maybe we can coordinate and do an event near you :-)